Abide with Me - 1 John 3: 16-24

Growing up, my dad had a tendency to make every vacation into an opportunity to teach us a history lesson. Most of our vacations were centered on history - Colonial Williamsburg and Plmoyth, Mass. But even those that weren’t had an aspect of learning to them. My brothers and I used to joke that we were the only kids who went to museums and historic sites as part of our time at the beach. It was no surprise then, that a friend (who was raised with the same attention to history) and I found ourselves at a memorial for soldiers our first week in Australia. As we approached the monument, the first thing we saw was the eternal flame, symbolizing the sacrifice of these men and women was beyond our time and place. The second was the words of John 15: 13 etched into the marble floor, “Greater love has no man but this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

When we read the account of 1 John today, the words of the gospel of John are once again brought to our mind. Often this verse congers up images of soldiers sacrificing themselves for the greater good. The other group often thought about is martyrs. Those men and women who stood up for their faith through action, and were ultimately killed for it. People like Martin Luther King Jr, who was killed for his belief in racial equality in this country. Or Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador, who spoke out against the government denying people their basic human rights. 

But today’s scripture passage reminds us that we are all called to lay down our lives.In fact, laying down our lives should be what we normally do as Christians, not a rarity. We lay down our lives daily in our choices surrounding how to act and treat each other. For the past several months, the Wednesday Bible study has been studying the book of James. If I could summarize that epistle in one sentence it would be that faith requires action, a message that 1 John picks up on today as well.

1 John has been described as an epistle where an older, more mature Christian is mentoring newer Christians in the faith. He is insistent in reminding the new converts, and us, that our actions come from our heart, and if we have the heart of Christ Jesus, when we should act like him - laying down our lives for others.

That’s easy enough to say, but what does laying down one’s life for others look like in our day to day living? It means putting the needs of others first. It means seeking the good for others. It means to speak up for those who are facing injustice, no matter how unpopular the stance. It means leading people to God, through Christ Jesus shining through our actions. Any time when we set aside, the normal human desire to put ourselves first in order to show the love of God, we  are laying ourselves down.

Please do not misunderstand what the author is saying. We are not called to a life of self-deprecation. We are not to set ourselves aside to the point where we neglect ourselves. But we need to re-imagine self-care to have it align with laying ourselves down. For example, I try to diligently protect my day off, my Sabbath, not because I am stingy, but because I know I need one day to bath myself in the presence of God, in order to effectively reach out and lay myself down for others the rest of the week. The question is really, what is the norm for you - do you normally set yourself aside so God can work through you, or do you focus solely on yourself.

Listen again to what I just said - do you normally set yourself aside so God can work through you. This is not about self-denial for the sake of self-denial. This is about emptying yourself so God can use you as a vessel for the work of the kingdom. When you neglect yourself simply for the sake of neglect or because you want to please people by putting them first, this is not laying yourself down. For laying yourself down is about God’s will being above all in your life. Without hesitancy.

The writer of 1 John (as well as the writer of James) are faced with Christians who say they love Jesus. Who intellectually know about Jesus, but who do not abide in him. For if you abide in Christ - if you live in Christ. If we look back at the Gospel of John, which 1 John is expounding on for a new group of believers, we are told time and time again to get our life from Jesus. Or in another translation to remain in Christ Jesus. Friends, Jesus Christ already abides in us, beckoning us to get life from him. The Bible tells us to remain in Christ, meaning Christ is already dwelling in us, shining through us, for the glory of God with the Holy Spirit’s leading. The question is are we acting like it? Are we acting like the resurrected Lord dwells with and in us?

There are many different models for evangelism out there today. The one that I find most meaningful and practice most often is relational evangelism - being in relationship with people and then letting your actions lead people to ask what light is shining through you. Such evangelism can be understood through the following Buddhist tale:

Many years ago there was a young man who searched for truth, happiness, joy, and the right way of living. After many years of traveling, many diverse experiences, and many hardships, he realized that he had not found any of the answers to his questions and that he needed a teacher. One day he heard about a famous Zen Master. Immediately he went to him, threw himself at this feet, and said, “Please, Master, be my teacher”

The Master listened to him, accepted his request, and made him his personal secretary. Wherever the Master went, his new secretary went with him. But although the Master spoke to many people who came to him for counsel, he never spoke to his secretary. After three years the young man was so disappointed and frustrated that he could no longer restrain himself. One day he burst out in anger saying to his Master: “I have sacrificed everything, given away all I had, and followed you. Why haven’t you taught me?” The Master looked at him with great compassion and said: “Don’t you understand that I have been teaching you every moment that you have been with me? 

Friends, we may not have people begging us to be their teacher, but we still have people we interact with each and every day who provide us with the opportunity to show the love of Christ for them, by laying ourselves down. We have the chance to show our faith through our love for others. Faith in Jesus Christ transforms us to act with love for others. In fact we are called to be obedient to Christ by demonstrating such sacrificial love that shines through our very lives and actions. 

Such self-sacrifice will not come naturally to us, because it is contrary to our human nature. We need to start small and work towards living a life of self-sacrifice, like someone training to run a marathon, starting one mile at a time, for long periods of time, before the big race. So what one way are you called to lay yourself down this week? With what one person are you going to set yourself aside? How are you going to show the message of Christ with your actions? How are you going to live for God this week? Start small. Leave room for your creativity and God’s grace, and see what lives you will touch with the power and message of the risen Lord. Amen.